We investigate the effect of intra-firm gender disparities on innovation using a unique longitudinal dataset of UK companies from 1996 to 2019. Utilising within-industry and within-firm variation, as well as an instrumental variable approach, we examine the effect of gender pay gap and female representation at the top, on patenting activity - measured by their headcount, number of citations, and economic value. In general, our findings indicate that gender parity does not negatively impact patenting. However, in more recent data, we uncover evidence suggesting that a lack of gender parity adversely affects both the quantity and quality of patents.

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14 May 2026     Paper Number CEPDP2179

Download PDF - Gender equality and innovation: evidence from UK companies

This CEP discussion paper is published under the centre's Labour programme.

This publication comes under the following theme: Labour market inequalities: Causes and cures, Gender in the labour market